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Data structures and algorithms mostly. Most companies will ask you to solve those types of questions. >If I'm interviewing, I expect to be asked about previous

Data structures and algorithms mostly. Most companies will ask you to solve those types of questions. >If I'm interviewing, I expect to be asked about previous projects, maybe my Github portfolio, and so on. Oh. Well you are in for a big surprise if you interview at 90% of tech companies.

noarchy 11y ago
Maybe where you are (and how unfortunate). But in a decade-plus of doing this, I haven't been asked things like that since I was trying to find my first job in software development. At that point, asking CS 101 questions made sense, since I didn't have much in the way of products shipped, and so forth.
- LordHumungous 11y ago
  How unfortunate why? Is it unreasonable to ask a candidate to know CS101? I would never work for a company that didn't ask engineer candidates those questions.
  - noarchy 11y ago
    >How unfortunate why? Is it unreasonable to ask a candidate to know CS101? Not at all. For a junior position. But that's a difference of opinion with which we may have to live. For more experienced candidates, I'd be far more interested in what they've done to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. I need them to be able to do more than hypotheticals. >I would never work for a company that didn't ask engineer candidates those questions. And that's fine. Small point to add: I see at least one regional difference, with regards to the terms being used - I never see software developers called "engineers" unless they have an engineering degree. Maybe that's just my part of Canada, I don't know. Perhaps it is more of a protected term here.
    - jholman 11y ago
      It is a protected term here (in Canada), and it is not in the US. For example, in 2001, Microsoft apparently agreed that in Canada, they would only use the acronym "MCSE", and not spell it out, because holding an MCSE does not make you an engineer. I think it's amusing and cute that American developers call themselves engineers. It's not like they take on the ethical responsibilities that engineers do. But when in Rome, speak Romansh. Or however that goes.

noarchy 11y ago

Maybe where you are (and how unfortunate). But in a decade-plus of doing this, I haven't been asked things like that since I was trying to find my first job in software development. At that point, asking CS 101 questions made sense, since I didn't have much in the way of products shipped, and so forth.

LordHumungous 11y ago
How unfortunate why? Is it unreasonable to ask a candidate to know CS101? I would never work for a company that didn't ask engineer candidates those questions.
- noarchy 11y ago
  >How unfortunate why? Is it unreasonable to ask a candidate to know CS101? Not at all. For a junior position. But that's a difference of opinion with which we may have to live. For more experienced candidates, I'd be far more interested in what they've done to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios. I need them to be able to do more than hypotheticals. >I would never work for a company that didn't ask engineer candidates those questions. And that's fine. Small point to add: I see at least one regional difference, with regards to the terms being used - I never see software developers called "engineers" unless they have an engineering degree. Maybe that's just my part of Canada, I don't know. Perhaps it is more of a protected term here.
  - jholman 11y ago
    It is a protected term here (in Canada), and it is not in the US. For example, in 2001, Microsoft apparently agreed that in Canada, they would only use the acronym "MCSE", and not spell it out, because holding an MCSE does not make you an engineer. I think it's amusing and cute that American developers call themselves engineers. It's not like they take on the ethical responsibilities that engineers do. But when in Rome, speak Romansh. Or however that goes.